Public services

Addressing household over-indebtedness

Report
Udgivet
12 marts 2020
pdf
Formater
Executive summary in 22 languages
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Related content

Author(s): 
Dubois, Hans; Fóti, Klára; Kable, Ethan; Anderson, Robert

Væsentlige konklusioner

  • In 2016, 14% of people (EU28) reported not being able to make scheduled payments related to rent or mortgages, consumer credit, loans from family or friends, or utility or telephone bills. If those with difficulty making ends meet – but without any arrears – are included, 21% risk being over-indebted.
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  • In 2016, 14% of people (EU28) reported not being able to make scheduled payments related to rent or mortgages, consumer credit, loans from family or friends, or utility or telephone bills. If those with difficulty making ends meet – but without any arrears – are included, 21% risk being over-indebted.
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  • Over-indebtedness is on the increase again in some countries and population groups.
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  • People aged 25–49 years are most at risk. A smaller group of over-indebted people aged 65+ experience greater financial problems and lower mental well-being.
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  • While policymakers often focus on mortgage or consumer debts with financial institutions, debt problems in low-income groups often relate to non-payment of utility or telephone bills, rent, taxes or fines, debts with friends, or healthcare costs. Policymakers interested in early intervention should not overlook this.
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  • If over-indebtedness is not addressed in an appropriate and timely way, there are negative consequences for affected individuals and households, as well as for society as a whole. Issues arising from over-indebtedness can include mental and physical health problems, as well as unemployment and inactivity.
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Resumé

The issue of over-indebtedness continues to be a concern, particularly among some population groups and in Member States where recent increases can be observed. This report provides an overview of the main causes, triggers and consequences of household over-indebtedness, including the costs to soRead more

The issue of over-indebtedness continues to be a concern, particularly among some population groups and in Member States where recent increases can be observed. This report provides an overview of the main causes, triggers and consequences of household over-indebtedness, including the costs to society. It then examines two policy responses in the EU and Norway: debt advisory services and debt settlement procedures. While the findings show that in the wake of the global financial crisis, such services and procedures have generally become more widely available and accessible, gaps remain. The overall aim of the report is to draw the attention of national and EU-level policymakers to ways to improve policy responses to household over-indebtedness.

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Formater

  • Report

    Number of pages: 
    68
    Reference no.: 
    EF19044
    ISBN: 
    978-92-897-2057-1
    Catalogue no.: 
    TJ-01-20-099-EN-N
    DOI: 
    10.2806/25005
    Permalink: 
    eurofound.link/ef19044
    Catalogue info

    Addressing household over-indebtedness

    Author(s): 
    Dubois, Hans; Fóti, Klára; Kable, Ethan; Anderson, Robert

    This report addresses the problem of household over-indebtedness, which is broadly defined as being unable to make payments related to regular commitments.

    Topics: 
    COVID-19; Social inclusion; Løn og indkomst; Livskvalitet og offentlige serviceydelser; Offentlige serviceydelser; Social policies; Living conditions

    Formater

    Cite this publication: 

    Eurofound (2020), Addressing household over-indebtedness, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

  • Executive summary

    Reference no.: 
    EF19044EN1
    Catalogue info

    Tiltag til bekæmpelse af overgældsætning i husholdningerne

    Author(s): 
    Eurofound

    Overgældsætning er fortsat et problem, især blandt nogle befolkningsgrupper og i medlemsstater, hvor der er observeret stigninger på det seneste. Denne rapport giver et overblik over de vigtigste årsager, udløsende faktorer og konsekvenser for husholdningernes overgældsætning, herunder omkostningerne for samfundet. Den undersøger også to politiktiltag i EU og Norge: gældsrådgivningstjenester og gældssaneringsprocedurer. Resultaterne viser, at sådanne tjenester og procedurer generelt er blevet mere bredt tilgængelige efter den globale finanskrise, men at der stadig er store forskelle. Det overordnede formål med rapporten er at gøre de politiske beslutningstagere i EU og på nationalt plan opmærksomme på, hvordan politiktiltagene mod overgældsætning i husholdningerne kan forbedres.

    Available for download in 22 languages

    Hent

  • Tables and graphs

    Tables

    Table 1: Debt advisory services in the EU28 and Norway, 2019
    Table 2: Illustrations of user numbers of debt advisory services, 2008–2018
    Table 3: Debt settlement procedures for over-indebted people, EU28 and Norway, 2019
    Table 4: Debt settlement procedure usage data, 2005–2018

    Figures

    Figure 1: Proportion of people aged 18+ at risk of over-indebtedness: arrears* or difficulties making ends meet, 2016, by Member State and EU28 (%)
    Figure 2: Proportion of people with arrears, by income quartile and type of arrears, 2016, EU28 (%)
    Figure 3: Proportion of people with arrears, by age group and type of arrears, 2016, EU28 (%)
    Figure 4: People with arrears, reporting great difficulties making ends meet and the WHO-5, by age group, 2016
    Figure 4a: Proportion of people with any arrears, reporting great difficulties making ends meet by age group, 2016, EU28 (%)
    Figure 4b: WHO-5 score by age group of people with any arrears, 2016, EU28 (max. 100)
    Figure 5: Proportion of households with arrears in mortgage or rent, utility bills and hire purchase instalments, 2010–2017, EU28 (%)
    Figure 6: Availability of debt advice in the EU28, 2019

Forskning udført forud for Det Forenede Kongeriges udtræden af Den Europæiske Union den 31. januar 2020 og offentliggjort efterfølgende kan omfatte data vedrørende de 28 EU-medlemsstater. Efter denne dato tager forskningen kun højde for de 27 EU-medlemsstater (EU-28 minus Det Forenede Kongerige), medmindre andet anføres.

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